Today sees the release of "May the 12th Be With You," a new Mother's Day-themed short from The Simpsons, exclusively on Disney+. In that, Marge Simpson joins the moms of Disney+ on a special holiday outing that turns into an epic galactic adventure filled with heroes, villains and a surprising old friend.
Earlier this week, we sat down for a chat with The Simpsons writer, executive producer, and showrunner Al Jean, a name you'll have seen in the show's credits since 1989.
We'll bring you the full interview soon, but while we had Al on the line, we asked if there's been any talk of making a sequel to 2007's The Simpsons Movie. It was a box office hit which grossed $536.4 million worldwide and, with the franchise finding success on streaming, we wondered if a follow-up could even skip theaters and head to Disney+/Hulu instead.
"There’s talk and I think something will happen," Al teased. "It’s tough for the entire animation business right now to know what the best path is. I think we want to see how the animated films do this summer."
"There are a couple of great ones coming out and, I’m all for animation, so I’m hoping the genre comes back in full theatrically," he added. "It’s bigger than The Simpsons; it’s a question for the whole genre."
This is a fairly positive update and one which we hope means something is in the works at Disney/20th Century Studios. 2024 looks set to be an important year for animation and, if the likes of Inside Out 2 and Moana 2 aren't box office hits for Disney, it could have a major impact on our chances of seeing The Simpsons Movie 2.
Fans have never stopped asking for a sequel, though, and we're sure that hasn't escaped Disney.
Elsewhere in our conversation, we asked Al about The Simpsons' 800th episode being just a couple of years away and whether he ever imagined the series reaching this landmark.
"I would have been institutionalised [Laughs] if I knew we’d get that far," he joked. "I was showrunner for episodes 300 to 700, so I’m happy to let someone take on 800 and up to 1000 at least."
As for the impact streaming has had on the franchise, Al added, "Oh, Disney+ has absolutely been a huge boost. No two ways about it. We didn’t have control on where we landed in the streaming wars and we’re really lucky with where we wound up. They’ve been totally supportive and great. Disney+ has been a fantastic place to work."
The Simpsons' latest short, "May the 12th Be With You," is now streaming on Disney+.